Best Doser

[reef keeper]

im looking around for dosing pumps for calcium and alk for my frag tank.

I have a calcium reactor on my main system, and my sps haven't really taken off. I'm redoing my rocks with shelf and branch due to a major gelidium outbreak. I'm breaking all the corals off the plugs and rocks, and as a result, have quite a few frags lol

My frag system is about 150 gallons (5x3x1 tall) and will be mostly sps, with some lps and zoos grown on large discs.

any good recommendations (and anyone with used ones for sale?)

 

[Sewerat]

Cheap or long lasting is the question?

Check aquastyleonline.com for pricing. I have ordered from them in the past but is US pricing


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[David Caplan]

I have a Jebaeo. I wish the Apex DOS was out when I was making the choice. I will probably move to that.

 

[TORX]

Cheap or long lasting is the question?

Check aquastyleonline.com for pricing. I have ordered from them in the past but is US pricing


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Best pricing on Kamoer dosers there. Great price for a top product. I use a Kamoer doser and love it.

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[reef keeper]

Thanks very much. I just ordered it. With exchange it came to $260. Free shipping.

$80.00 cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[Nonuser]

Jebaeo

That one is only $80 and appears to work great for David? Just wondering why pay so much more for this other one?

 

[TORX]

That one is only $80 and appears to work great for David? Just wondering why pay so much more for this other one?

Same reason why people pay more for Vortec MP pumps vs Jebao WP pumps.

Only in this case if something goes wrong with the cheap main boards and pumps in the cheap doser, you could pump a gallon in instead of 20mls. Worse thing that happens with the circ pumps is they stop working one day.

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[Nonuser]

Same reason why people pay more for Vortec MP pumps vs Jebao WP pumps.

Only in this case if something goes wrong with the cheap main boards and pumps in the cheap doser, you could pump a gallon in instead of 20mls. Worse thing that happens with the circ pumps is they stop working one day.

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Stats show they're more reliable?

 

[TORX]

I don't have stats, just from reading experiences on forums. There are lots of people with success stories with the Jebao doser, I personally live the Jebao line and use their circ pump and return pump. I even have a spare return pump just in case. But when it comes to dosing, I prefer the Kamoer doser. It isn't the most expensive doser but a nice middle ground. To each their own opinion, but I recommend the Kamoer 3 head doser, cheapest at aquastyleonline.com.

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[Nonuser]

I bought one on your recommendation and have it dosing. But I sometimes wonder about quality/price. Like the new jebaeo led, because lights are important too and quality and consistency is important. Then when you start spending hundreds of dollars on frags or inverts or fish every piece of equipment becomes that much more important in the overall investment. I'm not a person that buys hundred dollar polyps but if I did four hundred on a doser shouldn't concern me. Then five grand on led's should be in line with six, seven hundred scoly. Or the two thousand dollar gem tang. I'm just sayin

 

[ALowe]

Doser are not an area you should cheap out on. Like TORX said, something goes wrong with your pump and your entire coral stock could melt away. But do your research wisely and see which ones have the best reviews and reliability while still holding a competitive price. I also went with a kamoer based on the reviews and $$ value. Bubble magus have a competitive doser as well.

 

[kapelan]

different people different opinions.
I've tried Jebao - nothing wrong with it.
The only disadvantage with it - it's too fast for a small tank, about 100ml per minute. So it has to work 10-20 seconds for 5-10g tank.
For me, DIY doser is the best.
Enjoy DIY - That's why we are in this hobby.

 

[David Caplan]

That one is only $80 and appears to work great for David? Just wondering why pay so much more for this other one?

They all work great until they malfunction. At the time I didn't trust the other dosers on the market enough to merit spending the massive difference between $80 and $300+, now that the DOS is out and re-priced I might have made a different decision. I have my doser on my APEX set to shutdown if the PH fluctuates beyond my usual range as a backup.

 

[reef keeper]

That's a smart play David. I have that same setup on my main tank. I need to get another PM1 and eb8 for the frag tank.

The reason I went with the kamoer is because I TRUST it more than the jaebo. I have some pretty high end wild and RR acros, and the orange passion I have is huge and valuable. If I lost it, for $180, because I cheated on the doser I might just quit the hobby.

I DID look at the jaebo, and also read reviews where it failed. The kamoer has some features that bubble magus and jaebo don't have, and that made the decision.

FYI if you read some forums about the DOS, a lot of people aren't very happy with it.

 

[Nonuser]

They all work great until they malfunction. At the time I didn't trust the other dosers on the market enough to merit spending the massive difference between $80 and $300+, now that the DOS is out and re-priced I might have made a different decision. I have my doser on my APEX set to shutdown if the PH fluctuates beyond my usual range as a backup.

Kind of making my point with the high end equipment recommendations apex stuff and you having high end corals and high end lighting.
It like the difference between a cell phone pic and one of your pics with the high end camera equipment.

 

[David Caplan]

Kind of making my point with the high end equipment recommendations apex stuff and you having high end corals and high end lighting.
It like the difference between a cell phone pic and one of your pics with the high end camera equipment.

I think the key point I was making was that if I trusted any of the dosing pumps on the market enough, I would have shelled out the extra money. I use equipment I have used and trust, eheim jager heaters, marineland maxijet pumps, eheim return pumps, APEX, Vortech. As you said, the cost clearly isn't the issue. If I can buy a $300 frag, I can certainly buy a $300 dosing pump instead. I have had 0 problems with my Jebao, and I know many people and places that use them themselves. I researched the alternatives and read stories of failure similar to the Jebao. I figure way more people are buying $80 Jebao dosing pumps than $300 Koaemer ones, so there are bound to be more instances of failure, even if the failure rate itself is no higher. I'm not even sure what the danger is, if the mechanism slips and the doser starts pouring, my ph will go from 8.2 to 8.4 in less than a minute and shut it off. If it stops pumping something, my weekly tests will show me whats missing.

My brother is doing his PHD in Marijuana Horticulture at UofGuelph, and I spoke to him about it before I bought it. He was amazed that there was anything that existed at that price point, and says that even his lab-grade dosers must be maintained and can fail. They are very simple machines, and they can all malfunction in the same way. He is actually going to take mine if I get the DOS.

 

[Nighthawk26]

I run my DOS for water changes. Been running about 6 months. Aside from the recall on the rollers on early models (which mine was and got replaced which are also what most complaints have been without people knowing), the thing changes 3 gallons a day and last I checked was within mm's still of accuracy. I use the vertex Libra for dosing which I also have zero issues with, but only bought that cause I found a stupid deal used. Full retail new is kinda high. Otherwise For the money, all the reading and research I did shows Kamoer to be best overall quality and value.

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[Nonuser]

My brother is doing his PHD in Marijuana Horticulture at UofGuelph, .

If he needs help with any research lol - kidding

 

[David Caplan]

If he needs help with any research lol - kidding

As his only sibling, and the person who led him down that path, that honour goes to me . I help him out with lighting, photography and programming, he does the gardening. He is writing a book on best practices with his professor. He will also be the first person to get that degree in the world, very proud of my lil bro.

 

[reef keeper]

Just an FYI

They have shipped the doser already. Should have it in a week or 2.

I bought the acrylic rods and the guest fitting so I can run the line through the cap. I think I'll use B Ionic alk and calc and Kent mag.

Now, to find a deal on an eb8 and PM1 for the apex.